Still Life mastering/engineering...?

E

exscape

Member
Jul 18, 2007
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Straight to the point: Everybody's talking about how great Still Life is, that the production is brilliant (I expect no less from Dan!), etc.
It's just that it seems to me that the sound quality of the entire album is WAY sub-par. I've listened to online shop previews (which I know are often way downsampled) and *gasp* downloaded songs, in MP3, AAC and FLAC (lossless). Every single one of them have the same flaws at the same spots, and this definately puts me off buying the album (I ordered Blackwater Park just a few hours ago, and Still Life would be right next to it if it wasn't for this).

So, dear Opeth fans: Start playing 'The Moor' and listen closely at 5:01 and forward. 10 seconds should suffice (until after "... burning in my eyes"). Use headphones if possible.

Does anyone else notice this? Perhaps everyone else? I'll order the Digipak (only version I can buy) ASAP once I learn this issue has been "fixed" on that release. :ill:
 
Seems like the sound flickers from right to left some. But still, it's not as bad as on morningrise.

Also, just 10 seconds shouldn't be enough for you deciding not to but the album. I mean, it's brilliant!

Regards,
David Lingdell.
 
Hey I know it doesn't have the best sound to it.
But I guess that it all comes down to how important you think it is that the sound is perfectly engineered. I think every Opeth album has it own vibe to it, and Still Life's production certainly add to it's songs mood!

But I agree, there are some flaws. After some listens, I just don't pay attention to those. I rather listened to everything else, that's brilliant!

Regards,
David Lingdell (going to bed).
 
exscape said:
Straight to the point: Everybody's talking about how great Still Life is, that the production is brilliant (I expect no less from Dan!), etc.
It's just that it seems to me that the sound quality of the entire album is WAY sub-par. I've listened to online shop previews (which I know are often way downsampled) and *gasp* downloaded songs, in MP3, AAC and FLAC (lossless). Every single one of them have the same flaws at the same spots, and this definately puts me off buying the album (I ordered Blackwater Park just a few hours ago, and Still Life would be right next to it if it wasn't for this).

So, dear Opeth fans: Start playing 'The Moor' and listen closely at 5:01 and forward. 10 seconds should suffice (until after "... burning in my eyes"). Use headphones if possible.

Does anyone else notice this? Perhaps everyone else? I'll order the Digipak (only version I can buy) ASAP once I learn this issue has been "fixed" on that release. :ill:
Click to expand...

Well... on behalf of the band and the record company and the production team let me apologize. We can completely understand your reluctance to purchase the product with such a horrendous flaw in the production. It's beyond us that this has slipped through our crack quality control team and a sub-par product was allowed to exit the production facility. We'll set in motion the mighty wheels of commerce to pull the remaining copies from the shelves, peer to peer and file sharing services, online retailers and record stores. We'll also recall the sold copies and replace them immediately upon completion of the remaster. Please leave us your email address and we'll inform you ASAP of this issue being "fixed" so you can go out and get that digipak.

:rolleyes:
 
i've rarely if ever heard praise for still life's production. bwp, d1/d2, gr maybe, but not still life.

and are you talking about "dan" as in dan swano producing the album?

i sincerely hope you don't write off what many consider one of the best (if not THE best) opeth albums based on some very insignificant production hiccups.
 
exscape said:
Straight to the point: Everybody's talking about how great Still Life is, that the production is brilliant (I expect no less from Dan!), etc.
It's just that it seems to me that the sound quality of the entire album is WAY sub-par. I've listened to online shop previews (which I know are often way downsampled) and *gasp* downloaded songs, in MP3, AAC and FLAC (lossless). Every single one of them have the same flaws at the same spots, and this definately puts me off buying the album (I ordered Blackwater Park just a few hours ago, and Still Life would be right next to it if it wasn't for this).

So, dear Opeth fans: Start playing 'The Moor' and listen closely at 5:01 and forward. 10 seconds should suffice (until after "... burning in my eyes"). Use headphones if possible.

Does anyone else notice this? Perhaps everyone else? I'll order the Digipak (only version I can buy) ASAP once I learn this issue has been "fixed" on that release. :ill:
Click to expand...

Hey man, I agree the production isnt perfect, but I think the album as a whole is of high enough quality that you can overlook the small errors and still find alot of enjoyment in it. The fact that it does have these little mistakes and is still considered as one of the best metal cd's ever just proves the quality of the music even more. I think if you buy it and get lost in it youll see that the production is not the defining factor that makes Still Life what it is, its the songs. Anyway buy it just to support Opeth if nothing else, they deserve it.
 
Yeah, fifteen bucks and a few flaws (the only ones that ever really caught my attention are the channel cutouts on The Moor) shouldn't keep you from buying one of the finest metal releases of the past decade.
 
To some of the replies: Geez, I'm sorry I didn't shell out $350 to buy two copies of each Opeth album before a test listen to see if I even enjoy the music at all. FYI, it's not just ten seconds that sound horrible (sound quality-wise ofc) - it's not just The Moor, either.

To the non-flame replies: Thanks! I don't know how I missed the FAQ entry, I read it a week or so ago and did a quick search in it before posting, heh.
 
I have listened to Still Life 1345234937245946235 times and I must be the only one who have never heard any "flaws" at all! Is there something wrong with me or something right with my copy? :)
 
ingenkommentar said:
I have listened to Still Life 1345234937245946235 times and I must be the only one who have never heard any "flaws" at all! Is there something wrong with me or something right with my copy? :)
Click to expand...

yea ive tried listenin too......with headphones....i just dont get it either...then again...my wife always ell me im going deaf...ahahahha......but im sure we're nota lucky few with "perfect" CDs.....im sure we're jsut havin trouble hearing it...hahahaha.....as for teh original post.//////Still life is a great album....and its def. worth it .......u will not regret bying it.....PEAC EOUT
 
Sometimes the music is more important than the production. Oh wait... ALL THE TIME, the music is more important the the production. Since you're new here, you should know I'm saying this as an audio engineer. It's all well and good for something to sound awesome, but no matter how great something sounds, you've got to remember that the MUSIC comes first. Otherwise, go listen to an audiophile test CD.

I understand wanting to make sure the copy you get isn't faulty, but once you've discovered it isn't, move on. Get it or don't. Understand the limitations they were dealing with at the time. Read the FAQ. Use the search function. And if you have something new to add, by all means do. We like Still Life here, I think. And most of us are happy to discover things we haven't heard before. But to call the production, sound-quality-wise "horrible" is taking things waaaaay too far.
 
I think I noticed this the first few times I listened to Still Life, but now I'm so used to it I have a hard time even hearing it.

If you'd like, I could provide some amazingly crappy bootleg audio of The Moor live. Listen to that and you'll like the studio version so much better.
 
I don't know what to say, I don't have headphones right now, but without it, it looks okay. But I always tought the quality in Still Life was lower than other albums. It's the same label as.. hmm.. I don't remember what black metal band with crappy sound. Hopefully, it's Still Good. Ahah!
 
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